Kissing Fish
by LShaune
Summary: Continued from Clean Slate child ending. Hiei has choosen to live his life in the human world as a child, but can he live there peacefully or will his demon past come back to haunt him? Hiei X OC Nana Rating Pending
1. Strawberry and Vanilla

**Note: If your confused, please go read 'Clean Slate.' If you thought that story sucked eggs, you probably won't like this one much better. In fact, it will probably be worse. Anywho, on with the show! Be prepared for the ooc-ness! OOC-NESS!! That is all.**

The smell of blood hung thick in the air, growing steadily thicker as a small shadow shot through groups of demons, sword flashing and flames burning. Picking off those that had not been cut down were three teenagers, one with a sword, one with a gun, and one with a whip. None of these items, however, looked anything like normal human items. The whip was a green, thorny vine and the sword and gun were made of crackling energy. The small, darting shadow suddenly paused and looked back at the lagging group, wondering if they had always been this slow. Probably.

"Hey Hiei, slow down kid!" Yusuke yelled, panting slightly as he caught up to the small demon. Hiei smiled a little, unable to help but feel a little pride at how fast he was compared to his family and friends. He was small for his age, slender, with dark hair, pale skin, and red eyes. He was also eight years old. Kurama caught up next, and then Kuwabara who nearly collapsed on the ground from exhaustion.

"That's it, I'm dead, I can't hack it," Kuwabara said, wincing as Hiei poked him in the side with his scabbard. Kurama reached over and grabbed the child's wrist, making him stop. "Leave him alone Hiei, he's very tired," He said, making Hiei pull a face.

"It's not my fault the fool's so slow," He mumbled, reluctantly keeping his scabbard to himself. Kuwabara shot the child a glare which was returned with a protruded tongue. Yusuke quickly put himself between the two children, holding up his hands to keep them apart. "Settle down, kids, we're not quite done here yet and I'd hate to have people die just because you can't get along."

Hiei turned away from Kuwabara, arms crossed, and made a sound of disgust. At nearly the same moment he heard a similar sound of disgust. When he looked he saw Kuwabara in the **exact** **same** position as he was. Hiei let out a small cry of horror which made the other three turn to look at him. He pointed at Kuwabara, a look of real panic on his face. "I'm turning into you!"

Kuwabara looked confused for a moment, and then seemed to realize what the child was talking about. His face went a strange shade of red and he rose his hands in a clutching motion. "Why you little-!!" Hiei rose his small fists and Kurama pulled him back from Kuwabara. 'They can be so childish,' The fox thought, as Hiei and Kuwabara glared at each other. Kurama smiled and the group began to walk again. Hiei yawned widely, looking steadily more exhausted and making Yusuke wonder how long exactly it would take for him to break down and admit he was tired. After a little while, Kuwabara picked the child up and he allowed himself to be carried without complaint.

Hiei watched things go by with his head resting on Kuwabara's shoulder, struggling against a yawn that kept trying to creep up his throat. He still wasn't used to how every time he got bored he got tired, and now he seemed to get bored very easily. Sure, cutting demons in half and watching the blood spurt from their wounds was fun, but what did he have to do when all the cutting and killing was over? Not a whole lot, except walk and wait for something interesting to happen. Missions could be so boring sometimes, and the fact that they were just trying to get away now with the mission being complete made it worse. Still... he refused to complain. He didn't want to be like that silly human child, Nana, who started complaining as soon as she was bored, or tired, or upset.

"Stupid Nana," he grumbled, making Kuwabara look at him. "What's you say squirt?" He asked, patting the middle of Hiei's back as though he were an infant he was trying to put down for a nap. Hiei didn't answer and continued his silent simmering, remembering how Nana had stolen his sweet snow a few days ago.

He had been sitting there, enjoying the frozen treat, when he'd felt something poke his shoulder. When he turned to look at who had done it, she had taken his sweet snow! That had been almost a week ago, and he still refused to forgive her for it. It had been a nasty trick and he **hated** her for it. Well, he'd hate her for maybe another week or so. Then there was the festival, and he didn't want to go without her. She was the only other person his age that she knew, after all, and even if she was an enormous pain she could be fun. She liked playing tricks on Kuwabara almost as much as he did.

"Hello boys!" A cheerful voice called, making them all look up. Botan floated down on her oar, smiling at them all. Hiei felt the corners of his mouth twitch and hid his face in Kuwabara's shoulder, refusing to let anyone see how pleased he suddenly was. Botan took him to get sweet snow a lot, so naturally, he liked her. He felt a hand ruffle his hair and he growled, waving an arm around to ward it off. "Hello Hiei," the same cheerful voice chirped. He growled again, but for some reason a growling eight year old is never very threatening. In fact if you were a child it didn't matter how old you were, the only thing growling was, was cute.

"Hey Botan, are you our ride out of here?" Yusuke asked, looking relieved as Botan nodded. "Yup, mind if I take Hiei? He looks a little tuckered out and I can get him home the fastest." Hiei scowled and dug his fingers into Kuwabara's shirt. It wasn't that he didn't like riding with Botan on the oar, being around a mile off the earth and seeing people look so small was fun! However, he **hated** being treated like a child! It took both Kuwabara and Botan to pry him off and place him on the oar, where he sat with a slightly sulky look.

A portal opened before them, leading them back to the human world where they all lived. Hiei took one look through the portal and realized why he was so tired, it was night time. He held onto Botan's waist as they sailed through, going higher and higher into the air like he enjoyed it. He looked down and saw Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama all waving, now mere specks on the ground. He grinned and waved back, then he leaned against Botan's back to watch things go by. His anger over being treated as a child began to vanish as they climbed higher and higher into the sky.

"Botan?" Hiei mumbled, watching their toes graze the tops of clouds and stir up the moisture there. "What?" She asked, smiling. She enjoyed having Hiei on these trips back home, and not just because he liked diving towards the earth at breakneck speeds as much as she did. When you were up this high, it got very cold very quickly and Hiei's body automatically made up for the heat loss by growing very warm. It was like having a small space heater attached to her back!

"The festival... I wanted to know if I could bring a friend," He said, keeping his eyes on the ground far below them. Botan chuckled at the little demon. "Well of course you can! There's no reason for you not being able to, is there?" She asked, and feeling Hiei shake his head against her back she smiled. "Then go ahead and invite who you want to, Hiei. It's a festival after all... Ready to go down now?" She asked, dipping slightly downward. This time she felt a vigorous nod and they shot downward like two rockets gone horribly wrong.

Hiei laughed, feeling icy wind nip at his face and then seeing Genkai's temple growing larger and larger and larger. Botan straightened the oar out sharply and they hovered around four feet from the ground. Hiei carefully climbed off, still smiling. His hair was now swept straight back from the descent and Botan giggled, messing with it a little. He shook his head and waved his arms around, looking a little irritated again. Botan giggled again and rose back into the air.

"Sleep tight kiddo!" She called, vanishing into the sky. Hiei waved, grudgingly, back as a good bye and then headed inside. As he traded his shoes for slippers, Yukina appeared, smiling at him. "Welcome home, Hiei. Are you ready for your bath?" She asked, chuckling at Hiei's instantaneous 'heck no' look. He prepared to open his mouth and give a short speech about why he didn't need a bath when he smelled blood. He looked down and noticed that his clothes were covered in dime sized drops of the stuff. He groaned loudly and Yukina herded him into the bathroom, where she had already left a towel and washcloth for him.

Hiei turned on the hot water and began to remove his bloody clothing, smearing red on his hands and body. He dropped the stained clothes into the sink with disgust and then climbed into the tub. The water steamed and the moisture filled his nose, making it a little difficult to breath. Taking a deep breath, he sank down into the water, letting himself float between the surface and the bottom of the tub. After a moment he popped his head out again, gasping for air and hanging onto the side of the tub. The water was already slightly pink, but he didn't mind. He was used to the scent of blood by now and he always washed quickly.

After scrubbing his hair and body he climbed out of the tub, wrapping up in a towel that almost went around him four times. He scampered over to the sink and climbed onto the counter, searching for his tooth brush. Once he found it he began to scrub his teeth, paying particular attention to his two new fangs that he felt so proud of. He could eat anything now without getting them stuck in his teeth and he could easily rip meat with them now. After giving his teeth a good scrub he climbed off of the counter and made his way into the hall, still wrapped up tightly in his towel.

As quickly as he could safely go without tripping on the huge towel, he scurried to his room and dressed in his pajamas. As soon as his memory had returned he had refused to wear his duck or bear covered pajamas. It was just too humiliating to do, even if he was a kid. He now had plain pajamas of single, solid colors: Light blue, white, light green, dark blue, and black. Tonight he opted for white, since it was very humid out and he didn't want to have to peel his clothes off of him once he awoke. His body was still choosing the oddest times to show off its power and he didn't want to create a good situation for it to try to mess with him.

Once he was dressed he climbed into bed, beside the teddy bear he had had since he was a toddler. He pulled it close for a second and stuck his face in its fur, inhaling deeply. It smelled like his room, like floral laundry detergent, and like his friends and family. He had always been slightly worried that someone would make fun of him for keeping it, but no one did. He supposed that Koenma's pacifier did make for better conversation, especially since he still had in even in his teenage form. Still, when he heard his door opening he quickly shoved the bear back into the corner of his bed and squirmed beneath the blankets. Genkai looked in at him.

"Are you going to sleep soon?" The old woman asked, stepping into the room and walking towards Hiei's bed. He nodded as the old woman replaced the ward on his forehead with a new one to stay on while he slept. She nodded her improvement and then reached over and took his bear, slipping it beneath the covers with him. He smiled and she smiled back for a moment. "Your friend, Nana, said she'd be coming by to play tomorrow," she said, noting how Hiei made a face and stuck out his tongue at her name. "She wants to go to the park, I think. You'd better think it over and decide whether or not you want to be sick tomorrow." Hiei nodded and watched the old lady begin to leave. She paused at the door.

"Of course, if you are sick you certainly won't be able to go to the festival, now will you?" Hiei's mouth dropped open and the old woman left, satisfied with his reaction. The boy scowled and turned towards his bear, talking to it quietly. "That's so mean! I've been looking forward to the festival for a whole month! Why do I have to be nice to Nana to go?" He felt the faint stirrings of his demon counterpart and shoved them away, not willing to deal with a 'kill the human' rampage at the moment. Maybe in the morning, but not now. He snuggled down into the blankets and sighed, his body growing steadily warmer until he felt nice and cozy. He buried his head in his bear, and fell asleep.

* * *

Nana, dressed in her usual overalls and shirt that she wore when not in her school uniform, ran down the street with her shoes slapping the pavement. Her hands were coated with a thin layer of dust from the gardening she had done with her mother, and her overalls were wet with mud on the knees. Only her face and hair were really clean, and even they had streaks of dust and mud in and on them. With each step her pockets jingled from the rocks, coins, and candy wrappers in her pockets.

She bolted around the corner and jumped onto Genkai's stairs, flying up them as quickly as she was able. About halfway up, she tripped and laid sprawled out on a step. She groaned and rolled onto her back, staring at the sky. "...Owie," she mumbled, sitting up slowly and then proceeding slowly up the stairs. She reached the top and stretched, bones popping and joints cracking loudly. When everything felt like it was in its original place (Or close to it) she headed for the main building, smiling. She saw the old woman, Master Genkai, walking around the building. Nana waved, grinning from ear to ear despite the pain in her knees and chest. Genkai waved back and then continued walking. Nana headed inside.

"Hiei! Hey, where are you?!" Nana yelled, hands cupped around her mouth to amplify the sound. The boy poked his head around the corner, scowling at her. "Shut up, I'm right here," He snapped, walking over and pulling off his slippers. Nana smiled at him, sitting down while she waited for him to tie his shoes. She knew he was still mad about her stealing his ice cream, but she didn't mind much. Not counting the weird, foggy memories from before they had know each other for a few months now. She knew he could hold a grudge if he wanted to, but she also knew how to get him to forgive her again if she wanted him to. Hiei tied both of his shoes and stood up, looking sulky and irritable.

Together, they headed out the door and down the steps in front of the temple. Hiei headed down them much faster then Nana did, making her nearly run down the steps after him. He didn't really notice, since he liked going down the steps quickly. Once they reached the bottom they began heading towards the park, Hiei silent and sulky and Nana cheerful and humming. Hiei looked over at Nana after a few moments, a slightly curious expression on his face. "What are you humming?" He asked, making Nana stop her humming and look at him. She smiled and answered, "I dunno, it's something I heard my aunt singing once and I liked it." She took a deep breath and sang in an slightly off key, wispy voice:

_"In the quiet, misty morning_

_When the moon has gone to bed_

_When the song bird's ceased its singing_

_When the sky is clear and red_

_When the pastures ceased its gleaning_

_When the corn is past its prime_

_When adventures lost its meaning_

_I'll be homeward bound in time."_

Hiei tilted his head slightly as Nana sang the last few words, one brow raised. "That's a weird song, where'd she hear that?" He asked as Nana skipped ahead. The girl shrugged a little. "Dunno, but I liked it a lot when she first sang it, so I tried to learn it. Too bad my voice is terrible..." Nana said.

"Yeah it is," Hiei replied without thinking, making Nana smack him in the back of his head. He stumbled and glared at her.

"What was that for?!"

"Meanie!"

By the time they reached the park there was an unsteady truce between the two small children, though Nana was still mad at Hiei and Hiei was still mad at her. They headed to their bench and sat down to rest, both gazing at the ground and swinging their legs. By now Hiei understood that he had insulted her by saying she didn't sing well, but he still didn't appreciate being hit. It wasn't his fault she couldn't carry a tune!

After a little while, Nana headed over to the sweet snow vendor for a snack and Hiei looked away. He had forgotten to bring money with him, something he'd only remembered once they were at the park gates. He knew Nana had money, but he didn't want to ask her for any. Not with how mad he was at her anyway. He heard Nana start to head back and shut his eyes, enjoying the sun and the faint breeze that blew through the air.

After a few moments he felt a sharp pain in his leg and his eyes shot open, ready to fix his attacker with a blood chilling glare. Instead he saw Nana holding two cones of sweet snow, one strawberry and the other vanilla. She thrust the vanilla one at him, waiting for him to take it and he blinked at her. "What are you waiting for? They're gonna melt if we don't eat'em quick!" She said, smiling. Hiei took the sweet snow, feeling oddly humbled, and whispered a quiet thank you. Nana sat down beside him and they began to eat their sweet snow in companionable silence.

"...Hey Nana?" Hiei said, catching a few drips of sweet snow before they could falls onto his hands and make a mess. "Huh?" She said, already having devoured half of her own sweet snow and cone, miraculously without getting a headache. "How'd the rest of the song go?" Hiei asked, not looking at the young girl and instead focusing on his diminishing sweet snow cone. "I don't remember the whole thing, just a few parts," Nana said, glancing over at him curiously. "Why do you want to know?"

Hiei squirmed a little in his seat, looking at his toes and silently arguing with his demon counterpart.

**_'Stop trying to be nice! She's just a human, who cares if her feelings get hurt?'_**

_'She's my friend, and she was nice to me! I should be nice back, or I should at least try.'_

**_'Stop acting like a human already!'_**

_'Shut up already!'_

"C-could you... maybe sing what you remember?" Hiei finally said, wondering if Kurama ever felt this conflicted with his demonic half. Nana looked at him a moment, face stained with sweet snow and dirt, and then wiped off her mouth and looked out at the park. She opened her mouth and began to sing:

_"Bind me not_

_To the pastures_

_Chain me not_

_To the plow_

_Set me free to find my calling_

_And I'll return to you somehow."_

When she was done Nana took another big bite of her cone and chewed for a moment. Hiei sat and thought about the words to the song. They sounded kind of sad, and then not sad at the same time. Weird. Nana finished her cone and then leaned over and stole a lick of his. Hiei shoved her away in disgust as she giggled, the tip of her nose beaded with vanilla. "You already had yours, leave mind alone!" Hiei said, checking the damage to his own cone. There was a smear of pink in the white from Nana's face and he scowled, making the girl laugh more.

"But strawberry and vanilla tastes good!" She said happily, grinning as Hiei licked away the offending streak of pink with a face. He didn't like the taste of strawberry very much, though there were some things with strawberry he would eat. Nana seemed to like strawberry anything, like Botan did, and it somewhat irritated him. It meant he couldn't steal **her** sweet snow, but she could still steal **his**. Nana didn't bother him, or his sweet snow, for a few moments which gave Hiei enough to bolt down his treat without hindrance. When he finished, Nana glanced at him.

"Are you going to the festival?" She asked, watching Hiei lick his fingers and palms clean again. He nodded, wiping his palms on the knees of his pants, and looked at her. "Want to come with me?" She asked suddenly, smiling and clasping her hands together in a begging position. He stared at her, suddenly realizing why she had gotten him sweet snow and asked to go to the park, to ask to go to the festival with him. He looked away from her and nodded, crumpling his napkin up and sticking it in his pocket. Nana let out a triumphant cry and hopped off the bench, jumping up and down and talking quickly.

"We can go to the festival, and I can wear my new yukata, and we can play the fish game, and we can watch fireworks, and we can try on masks, and maybe spend the night at each other's houses and-" Hiei lost track of her at about that point, unable to understand anything beyond spending the night at each others houses. Was that like a sleep over he always heard the silly human girls at school talking about? It sounded kind of stupid, and there was no way he was going to let Nana paint his nails. She'd have to drug him first.

They began heading to their homes, Nana still talking a mile a minute and Hiei wondering if the sweet snow had made her start acting so crazy. He'd have to ask Kurama what exactly sleep overs were, just to make sure he didn't agree to anything that he'd soon regret. They parted ways, both waving good bye, and Hiei took off at a run. Kurama should be at the temple soon...

**Note: There is a good possibility that I won't be updating this daily soon. I start college in September and then I'll be pretty busy (Volunteer Mascot, whoo!). Just a warning, sorry 'bout that. BTW, I am flyin' by the seat of my pants here, so if something doesn't make sense, ask me about it and we can puzzle over the meaning together :)**

Anything anyone would find interesting to see? Throw some suggestions out there and let's see what comes of it.


	2. Star Festival

**Note: -Twiddles thumbs, yawns- I am soooo tired :)**

**P.S. I don't know what everything is called in this game. I'm making it up as I go along...**

**P.S.S The whole Dad situation I got off of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour :)**

**P.S.S.S. ...-Holds up a 'Will take suggestions for inspiration' sign-**

"Kurama!" Hiei called from the top of the stairs, hoping the fox would hear him if he had already arrived. He ran through the door, pulled off his shoes, and then started down the hall. He took a deep breath, getting ready to call for his friend again, when he collided with him going around the corner. Both fox and fire demon fell heavily to the ground with different pains and bruises. Hiei's head, neck, and chest hurt while Kurama's knees, stomach, and back hurt. Hiei was the first to climb to his feet, rubbing his head and then holding out a hand to help Kurama up. When they were both upright again, Kurama smiled at the boy. "Alright, you have my attention. What is it?"

Hiei shook his head, to clear it, before he answered him. "Kurama, what's a sleep over?" He said, eyes half daring the fox to laugh at him for the question. Kurama didn't laugh, but he did cover his mouth so the boy wouldn't see the smile there. There was a nearly overpowering urge to tease the little demon, but he managed to suppress it and walked with the boy to the kitchen. "A sleep over? It depends, how many people would be there and what's the occasion?" He asked as Hiei climbed into his chair. Kurama took a chair across from him and waited as Hiei thought for a moment.

"One person and... I don't think there's a reason for them coming over," Hiei said quietly, avoiding the use of Nana's name at all costs. Kurama already thought he knew who the 'one person' was, since Hiei only had one friend from school that he allowed to come over to Genkai's temple, but didn't say it out loud. That would only set the boy off, especially since Yusuke and Kuwabara kept calling Nana his 'girlfriend.'

"Well, then a sleep over would just be having a friend spend the night so you could play some more. You might watch shows, play games, or-"

"I wouldn't have to paint my nails would I?" Hiei said with a slightly hopeful expression. "A lot of girls in class talk about painting their nails during sleepovers... I wouldn't have to, would I?" At this point Kurama did start laughing, unable to answer without the image of the boy demon with puffy pink nail polish on floating into his head. Hiei turned a dark red and looked away, wishing he hadn't said anything at all. After a while the image faded and Kurama got control of himself again. Hiei shot him a glare that read 'You About Done Now?' and Kurama tried for an apologetic look.

"No Hiei, a lot of girl's have sleep over's where they do each others hair and nails, but boys don't usually do those sorts of things," Kurama said, feeling a little bit better as he saw Hiei relax at those words. The image tried to force its way into his mind again and he fought it off, not wanting to upset the boy further. "...At the festival, what's the fish game?" Hiei asked next, giving Kurama something new to focus on other then that image of pink nails.

"The fish game? Oh, you mean where you catch the fish to take home?" Kurama asked. Hiei shrugged quietly, biting the corner of his lip. "I think so, I'm not sure," He answered, pulling his legs up into the chair with him and then sitting, cross legged, in his chair. Kurama smiled at the small display of child-like behavior and then tried to think of a way to explain the game. "Well, your given two small paddles made of paper to catch the fish with and your put in front of a large container of water and small fish. You have to try to catch the fish with the paddles before the paddles become useless. It can be very difficult because if your impatient then you'll scare the fish away, but if you wait too long the paddles will become weak and won't hold the weight of the fish anymore. Understand?"

"I think so. You have to try to catch the fish before the paddles get too wet to be useful anymore, but you also have to be careful so the fish don't swim away from you when you try to scoop them up, right?" Hiei said, looking at Kurama for a sign of confirmation. Kurama nodded and Hiei smiled, obviously pleased with himself for having understood Kurama's explanation, no matter how simple it was to understand. The fox shook his head, smiling, and then said in a matter of factly voice, "If you want to have Nana spend the night you'll need to ask Genkai first. This is her home after all."

"Just because I want a friend to spend the night does **not** mean it's Nana!" Hiei yelled, looking slightly offended and annoyed. Kurama smiled slightly. "I'm sorry, your right. I suppose you have many other friends who would want to spend the night at your house that paint their nails, correct?"

"...Touché," Hiei said, acknowledging that Kurama had cornered him. Hiei had made a few, tenuous friends at school, but none were as close as Nana was. She was the only one of his friends that visited him at his home and that invited him to her house. He rarely went to her house, but on the few times he had gone her family had seemed nice.

Her mother had been a little nervous around him at first, and had asked many questions about the 'bandages' on his arm and forehead, but after the tenth interrogation or so she seemed to settle down and accept him. She wore a lot of perfume and cooked often. She seemed surprised when Hiei told her he wanted to cook his own meal, and wouldn't let him. It had sort of miffed him for a while. She was nice, serious, and somewhat quiet.

Nana's father, on the other hand, had pulled him off to the side as soon as he stepped through the door for a 'talk.' He had then been told that if he got any ideas about hugging her, or kissing her, or anything else had had one thing to remember: He didn't mind going back to prison. Hiei, who was not afraid in the least of this human father but **really** didn't want him to think he liked Nana **that** way, had instantly started to try to explain that Nana was his **friend** and not **that kind of friend**. At this the man roared with laughter and clapped him hard on the back, explaining that Nana had said he was fun to tease. He had learned to both avoid the man and to wait to see if he laughed when he accused Hiei of something.

He supposed everyone at Genkai's temple liked Nana as much as her family liked him. She didn't take any crap from Yusuke and often made him angry with her own comments. She seemed to see Kuwabara for the fool he was, and acted on those feelings. She seemed to alternate between liking Kurama and Genkai and being annoyed by them for different reasons. He didn't know how she felt about Yukina. She seemed to avoid Yukina completely for some reason he didn't quite understand.

He sighed and put the puzzling thought aside. He'd ask Nana why she acted that way tomorrow, right now he needed to ask Genkai if it was okay to have Nana spend the night. He quickly climbed out of his chair, thanked Kurama, and bolted out the door again. If he knew the old woman by now, she was probably playing video games or something...

* * *

Nana was also looking for someone to ask her questions too. Tanabata was in only a week and she wanted to know if she could spend the night at Hiei's house then. It only made the most sense, especially since Hiei didn't seem to like being at her house very much. He really wasn't much of a people person. Sometimes she didn't think he was really a person, though she wasn't sure why. He sure didn't act normal all the time, and he was always kinda grumpy but she wasn't sure that was why she felt he was... different. 

Every once in a while she caught sight of something in his too sharp teeth, or red eyes that made a silent sense inside of her scream in panic. As if her friend were some kind of predator, something to be feared and hated on sight. She had a feeling that was why other children avoided him, but she had never seen anything that seemed to confirm these thoughts. It was because of that she had chosen to take a chance, she could remember that, but... After that it was all blurs. A boy shoving her on the playground. Playing at the park. Red, a lot of red, on her friend.

She shook her head. She had never really understood where these odd memories had come from, but they bothered her a lot. That and those horrible nightmares...

"Daddy!" She called out, hurrying down the hall. Her father sat in his study, pouring over papers, and she ran to him out of a strange, primal fear that rose from the memories of her friend and the dreams. She threw herself into the safety of his arms and curled up there, calming back down. He set his papers down and wrapped the child in a hug, feeling a slight shiver in her body. "What's the matter honey? Mama have the A.C. on too high again?" He asked, hoping the light joke would calm his frightened daughter. She settled slightly and then smiled at her father.

"Nothin' Daddy," She said, not understanding why she had acted that way. She had just been so scared... "Hey, can I spend the night at Hiei's?" She asked suddenly, mind getting back on track again after the fearful moment passed. Her father frowned at her, rubbing his chin with obvious reluctance. "Going to spend the night at a boy's house? I dunno... Who's this Hiei again?" Nana giggled and gave her father a little shove, making him laugh. "I don't care, just be sure to mess with him for me. He needs to loosen up some."

"Kay daddy!" Nana said, smiling. "Festival night, okay?"

"Okay, okay, when you go just be sure to be nice to everyone." Nana ran out of the study, yelling out a promise, and bolted into her room. She knew she wasn't leaving for a while, but she had to plan ahead! She didn't think Hiei was going to have the slightest idea what to do, so she'd have to pick up his slack. She grabbed her overnight bag and threw her journal inside, then she began searching through her CD's and games. She grabbed two of her horror games and a few of her favorite CD's in the bag. She headed into the family room then. What sort of movies did Hiei watch?...

* * *

Later that night both children awoke from separate nightmares. Nana's nightmares involved a bloody monster that chased and killed her in her dreams. Hiei's were less distinct. He could recall pain, fear, blood, and the horrid knowledge of wishing to escape and knowing he could not. Beyond this knowledge there were images, smells, and sensations, but nothing that made sense. He didn't fall back asleep that night. 

**Note: Sorry for shortness, but I have church in the morning:) **

**Anywho, again I'm open for suggestions- **

**Inner Fangirl: She's beggin for them no- CHIBI HIEI! **

**Me: Leave my characters alone darn you! Anyway, seriously I'll try to work with any suggestions so long as it has nothing to do with aliens, an alien invasion, Hiei being an alien, or the Easter Bunny. **

**...-Considers putting short clips of lyrics before chapters if the lyrics fit- **

**Inner Fangirl: ...You know most of this is your notes- **

**Me: SHUT IT WOMAN!**


	3. Before the Festival

**Note: Meh... I may need to remove that 'humor' genre... This may cease to be humorous soon...**

**Inner Fangirl: Why is that?**

**Me: I'm a sadist, that's all... --' Ah yes, I believe the manga version Yukina does eventually figure out Hiei is her brother, but I'm not sure whether or not he knows she knows...**

**P.S. Here is your 'Much Cuteness and OOC' warning.**

**P.S.S. I'm not sure if the Tanabata festival is held wherever they live, and I'm too lazy to check... or to see if the city they live in is real or fictional :)**

_---_

_Your call is coming_

_I'm dreaming away_

_For what lies hidden_

_It needs to be found_

_Sounds of freedom make me wanna try_

_--Sounds of Freedom, Within Temptation_

_---_

"Yukina?" A small voice whispered by her bedroom door. Yukina sat up, rubbing her eyes and stretching. She opened her eyes and saw Hiei standing there, his teddy bear clutched close to his chest with a blanket wrapped around him, and his eyes wide with some unspoken fear. She pulled back the blanket on her own bed and patted the mattress, an invitation Hiei instantly accepted. After the little boy had situated himself beside Yukina, she pulled the blanket back over him and wrapped an arm around him, feeling him cuddle into her and begin to warm up. The boy was shivering.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Yukina asked in a soothing voice, trying to calm him down a little bit so the dream would not return if he fell back asleep. She felt him nod his head and snuggle closer, as though hoping she could keep whatever was in his dreams away from him. It was strange, knowing how he had been before and then seeing how he was now. He had moments were he was a killer, moments where he was a child, and moments where he was both. Right now, he was clearly a child. Yukina gently began to stroke his hair and felt the little demon relax a little. "Do you want to talk about it?"

No, she felt a vigorous shake of his head that indicated that. It worried her, not just because he normally didn't keep many secrets from her but because these nightmares were increasing in frequency. Several weeks ago she could easily calm Hiei back down and send him back to bed. Now he looked so scared after these nightmares she didn't have the heart to do such a thing. After a few moments she felt him fall into a light sleep, and instantly begin to shake.

"Brother," Yukina whispered gently, wrapping her arms around the small body and pulling him closer. She didn't think she could chase away his nightmares, but she could try at least. To her surprise, he slowly stilled within her arms and fell into a deeper sleep. She smiled and rested her head against his. She slowly fell asleep.

* * *

Hiei woke the next morning still in his sister's bed, cuddling his teddy bear and tucked tightly into the blankets. Yukina was already gone, probably to start making breakfast or clean or something. Hiei fought with the blankets for a moment before freeing himself and climbing out of the bed. He seized his teddy bear and blanket and headed out, going towards his room. Despite the horrible nights sleep he felt happy, not quite cheerful but definitely happy. Then again, why shouldn't he be happy? It was the festival today, and Nana was coming over!

He grinned and bolted into his room to find something to wear and to clean up. His demonic half began grumbling, he could hear it calling him foolish for being so excited about having a 'stupid human girl' come over, but he ignored it. His child half was too joyful and excited to care much about what his demonic half was complaining about.

He threw both his bear and his blanket onto his now bare bed and began cleaning his room. His sword went into his closet, safely tucked behind some old baby toys that had not yet been removed, so Nana wouldn't find it and try to play with it. He made him bed, removed his dirty clothes from under the bed, and put several of his books away. When he was satisfied the room was clean he started looking for something to wear. Hadn't Nana said she was wearing a yukata? He frowned a little and pulled out a pair of pants and a t-shirt, not having a yukata of his own to wear. He was about to dress when his door began opening and he dove under his bedcovers with a yelp. He heard someone enter and close the door behind them.

"Hiei? Is that you?" Hiei poked his head out and scowled, it was just Kuwabara. Kuwabara was in his normal blue school uniform, though Hiei suspected that he would change into something more festive once everything began. It was still early morning.

Kuwabara grinned at Hiei as though he had not just barged in. He had a shopping bag in one hand and different colored papers in the other. "Hey Squirt, wanna help me make paper cranes?" Hiei shook his head, climbed back out from under the covers, and began pulling clothes on. Kuwabara sat down on the bed, as if thinking about something. Hiei finished dressing and looked at him, annoyed and curious at the same time. Kuwabara finally snapped out of his trance and smiled.

"I'm going to go find the others, they're suppose to be helping Genkai and Yukina decorate," Kuwabara said, getting slightly starry eyed and getting up to leave. Hiei felt a headache creeping its way into his head and was incredibly relieved when Kuwabara left him alone again.

"Now I've gotta make my bed a...gain..." The shopping bag Kuwabara had been hanging onto sat on top of his bed, slightly open. Hiei stared at it, thinking Kuwabara must have left it behind by accident when he started thinking of Yukina. He reached over and grabbed the bag, thinking he should return it. Still... There was no harm in peeking, right? He carefully reached into the bag and touched something soft, like cotton. He pulled the item out of the bag and shook it out so he could see what it was.

He stared for a long time, feeling his throat and chest tighten so suddenly it was almost painful._ '...Darn him, how can I hate him when he pulls this crap?'_

* * *

"Aw man, why do I have to do this stuff?" Yusuke complained, folding a piece of paper into what looked somewhat like road kill. So far Yusuke had successfully folded four paper cranes, Kuwabara three, the girls collectively had folded somewhere around thirty, and Kurama was up to twelve on his own. Keiko smiled, setting a perfectly folded crane down. "Quit complaining and enjoy yourself, Yusuke. As soon as we're done here we'll change and head down to the festival," She said, taking another piece of paper and folding it carefully. Yusuke groaned and seized a new piece of paper while Kurama chuckled.

"Cheer up Yusuke, the festival should be fun," Kurama said, setting down his own paper crane. "Besides, Genkai did say she needed help with the paper kimonos and you-"

"There's no way I'm gonna hang paper kimonos with the old hag!" Yusuke yelled, grabbing another piece of paper after messing up the last. "Knowing her she'll turn it into some stupid kind of training and-!"

"Geeze you're loud, I could hear you way outside the temple," A young voice said, sounding more amused then annoyed. Yusuke looked over and saw Nana standing there in her overalls with two bags beside her. "Hey Nana, uh, why do you have two bags?" Kuwabara asked, noticing the larger bag and the smaller plastic one.

"To spend the night, duh," She answered, picking up the plastic bag. "This one has my yukata for later, can I go set it out somewhere?" She asked, looking at the others. Yukina smiled and stood up, leading the small girl out of the room and down the hall. At Yukina's room they laid out the yukata, being careful not to further wrinkle the material. As they spread it out, Nana gave Yukina a thoughtful look.

"...You're very pretty Miss Yukina," She said softly, looking at her yukata once it was spread out. Yukina smiled at her, and then noticed the slightly troubled look on the girl's face. Yukina set her hand on the girl's shoulder before speaking. "Nana? Is something wrong?" Nana started.

"Oh, no Miss Yukina! I-I'm just thinkin' is all, um, do you know what kind of movies Hiei likes?" She said, abruptly changing the subject. Yukina smiled apologetically at Nana. "I'm sorry, but I don't think Hiei watches many movies," She said, smiling as gently as she was able. Nana looked slightly crestfallen. "Oh... well that's okay. I can ask him if he likes them when I see him... Where is he?" The little girl asked, realizing she hadn't seen her friend at all since her arrival.

"I think he's getting dressed in his room. He's been in there a while now, so he might be done by now," Yukina said, heading out of the room with the small girl. Nana smiled and began to run down the hall, straight towards Hiei's room. Yukina smiled and began walking back to where the rest of her friends were. She had paper cranes to make.

* * *

Hiei struggled, trying to figure out how to tie the belt around the yukata so he wouldn't need to worry about it coming open on him. He remembered doing this before when he was older, but for some reason he just couldn't get his fingers to work correctly. That, or maybe he didn't know how to tie one of these belts when he was older either. He heard the door to his room open again and quickly yanked the yukata shut.

"Kuwabara, can't you knock like a normal-" He heard a giggle, a **girl's** giggle, and winced inwardly. Holding his yukata tightly closed her turned and glared at Nana, who was laughing at the blushing boy. "Nana! Get out of here! I'm trying to get dressed!" Hiei yelled, sounding oddly squeaky suddenly. Nana broke into rib breaking laughter, toppling to the ground and giggling madly with tears in her eyes. Hiei went even redder. "NANA!"

"Keep your shorts on," Nana said, sitting up and wiping tears away from her eyes. She giggled faintly and walked over to him, covering her grin with one hand. Hiei backed away from her, still red and angry. "Come here, I'll fix it for you," Nana finally said, smiling.

"I'm doing just fine!" He said, looking very uncomfortable suddenly. Nana tilted her head slightly to the side and placed her hands on her nonexistent hips. "Is that why you're dressed like a corpse?" She asked, pointing to how he had wrapped the yukata around him. Hiei looked at her, confused. "Only corpses are dressed with the right side wrapped over the left, and unless you're planning something weird I don't think you want to wear yours like that," Nana said, seizing the edges of his yukata and rewrapping them without the slightest look of embarrassment on her face, unlike Hiei who could now be used as a nightlight. After fixing the front of his yukata, Nana took the obi and secured it around Hiei, keeping the yukata firmly shut.

"There, was that so painful?" Nana said, heading out without waiting for an answer. Hiei followed her, mumbling something that sounded like _'you have **no** idea.'_ Hiei's yukata was a light blue with a white design on it, the shade of blue making Nana giggle and prod him. Hiei was scowling by the time they made it outside to help with the decorations and Nana was giggling again. Yukina smiled at the two.

"Hiei, you look so cute in your yukata!" She said, hugging the small demon. Hiei winced at being called 'cute' but didn't growl or grumble, mainly because it was his sister hugging him and not someone else. She released him and handed him a string of paper cranes to hang up before turning to give Nana something else to hang up. Hiei sighed and began hanging cranes while Nana began hanging streamers. Hiei pulled at a streamer with disgust.

"Why do we have to put all these things up? It's not like they actually do anything," He said, sounding sulky. Nana gaped at him. "What?! You can't be serious! You mean you really don't think they'll do anything?"

"If they had any kind of power then-" Nana pulled a crane down out of the string in his hand with a stern look. "These things can to make good things happen, I know they can," She said, sticking the crane in her pocket. Hiei rolled his eyes and continued putting up strings of cranes. Nana huffed and continued putting up streamers, looking angry at him for some reason he couldn't quite understand.

When they finished Nana walked away to go 'get ready' for the festival, still angry at Hiei. Hiei looked at Yukina, utterly confused by his friend's behavior. "'Kina? What'd I do?" He said, sounding confused and a little sad. Yukina smiled at him gently. "I think you might have hurt her feelings, Hiei. She really does believe that these things help people and you were very adamant that they did nothing. You have to remember that she hasn't lived as long as you have, so to her these things still do what stories say they do," Yukina said, gently ruffling the child's hair. Hiei sighed and looked a little annoyed before getting up to go find Nana.

_'Human's are **so** troublesome...'_

* * *

Nana stood in the bathroom, stripping off her overalls and pulling on her yukata. Left side over the right, like it was proper to wear. Nana tied her obi tightly around her and sighed. She drew the crane out of her overall pocket and sighed gently.

_'Stubborn boy... Stubborn, **stubborn** little troll,'_ She thought, setting the crane beside the sink and washing her hands and face. She pulled two hair sticks out of her plastic bag and set them beside the crane. She carefully gathered her hair in her hands and began to twist it until it formed a bun at the back of her head. She took the first hair stick and carefully skewered her hair with it, and then secured the bun with the second stick. She sniffed a little and wiped her eyes on her sleeve, looking at her reflection.

A skinny little red head with slightly watery blue eyes. She sighed and thought of Yukina, who seemed so much prettier then she was. She shook her head hard._ 'I can't worry about how I look now, I'll be freaking out about that enough when I'm older. Right now... right now I have to worry about how I'm going to walk in my shoes,'_ Nana thought picking up her bag and pulling out a pair of geta. She bit her lip and then carefully slid them on. After a few seconds on walking, Nana put her overalls and shoes into the plastic bag and tucked the crane into her yukata. She headed out the door to go put away her things.

* * *

Hiei, who had just managed a very painful and slightly humiliating 'thank you' to Kuwabara, was feeling a little worried. He hadn't been able to find Nana, and everyone had changed and was ready to go. Was Nana not ready yet? He bit his lip, waiting.

_**'Would you stop it? You're embarrassing, wearing that thing and being so pathetic. It's just a festival and you're 'friend' is a misled human! Stick with the detective and his friends, at least they can fight and take care of themselves.'**_

_'Would you shut up already? Nana is my friend, and I don't see how that's a bad thing-'_

**_'Don't you remember what that demon in the tournaments did to Kurama's human mother?'_**

Yes, he remembered. He had sent another demon to track Kurama's mother so he could beat Kurama and win the tournament. But still-

"Hey Nana! About time!" Hiei jumped, looking in the direction Yusuke had called. He saw something pink heading in their direction and sighed. It figured she'd have choose pink. Kurama laughed at Hiei's slightly disgusted look and patted his head, making the small demon scowl. Nana finally ran up to them, and Hiei stared at her. He knew she'd be wearing a yukata, but he'd never realized how different it would make her look.

She was clean, which was a shock in itself, and her hair was pulled back rather then hanging in her face. The geta she wore made her an inch or so taller. The pink made her look as though she had some color, rather then the washed out, pale skin he was used to seeing. She looked... kind of pretty. Hiei's child side instantly became overwhelmed with sudden shyness and he moved behind Kurama without understanding why.

_**'Idiot.'**_

Nana tilted her head at him and frowned. "What the heck's wrong with you?" She said, running over and grabbing his hand with a sudden, wicked grin. Hiei chose not to say anything, which was probably the safest option with his demonic half calling him names and his child half ready to climb up the back of Kurama's shirt. He figured his most natural response was somewhere between the two feelings, but neither half were cooperating to make that happen.

Kurama chuckled as Nana began pulling Hiei towards the stairs, talking happily to a mute Hiei. Kuwabara didn't seem to get it, and Yusuke was already thinking of ways to tease the boy later. Keiko then grabbed **his** hand and pulled him towards the stairs, smiling and telling him if they didn't hurry, they'd be late. Yukina hurried along, and Kuwabara followed so he wouldn't be left in the dust.

Hiei was a little surprised by how quickly Nana could move in her geta, but easily kept pace. It was strange, how angry she had been before compared to how happy she was now. Maybe all human girls were like this...?

**Note: Ain't it cute? Anywho, festival is coming next. I'm glad this was easy to do... -Bashes head against 'Writers' block- GRAAAAH! Okay, done for now. -Bandages head-**


End file.
